Leominster field hockey team is battle-tested

LEOMINSTER -- Kelly Clarkson's pop hit "Stronger" isn't the Leominster High field hockey's theme song, but maybe it should be?

The lyrics in Clarkson's song include, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

For the injury-riddled Blue Devils, those words are certainly true. They've been watching teammates drop like flies over the final week of the season, but are a bonded bunch and confident they can overcome any and all obstacles -- including injuries.

"They've really come together and found (it) within themselves to play as a team and have that faith and belief that we can do this, we can win, we can beat anyone that we want to beat, knowing up here in our head and on the field physically," Leominster coach Tricia Nicholson said during Tuesday's practice at Carter Field. "We've come together as a team and bonded. We've picked each other up. I see that and that's awesome because there's two roads we could have went down. One, give up and just throw the towel in, or we dig deep and find a way, any way, and how to get that win. We've done that."

"I love being the underdog," Leominster senior all-star Dominique Zarrella said, knowing expectations aren't very high that the Blue Devils will make a deep postseason run. "I'm super excited to show the surrounding cities that we are a really good team, even though our record doesn't show it.

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We are a strong team and we will overcome what is thrown at us."

Nicholson said it simply doesn't matter who Leominster plays in the tournament. The bottom line is taking care of business and playing as a team.

"I care about my girls," Nicholson said. "We're ready. I don't know anything about (Hudson), which I think is better for us. It's anybody's go. It doesn't matter who we're playing because we're worried about us and we need to play as a team like we've been doing all year, ... and just hoping no more injuries."

"Honestly, If I (were on) another team, I'd be scared of us because we're fired up, ready to go and we're so excited because we think we can go far this year," Leominster senior halfback Hannah Mason said.

Leominster is thrilled to be going postseason dancing once again, but not as excited about all the injuries it has endured during the past week.

Last Wednesday, the Blue Devils suffered two devastating blows, as sophomore midfielder Shaylyn Gallagher and Zarrella each were struck by field hockey balls to the face during a game against Algonquin. Gallagher suffered broken bones that required season-ending surgery. Zarrella -- Leominster's star and one of the top players in Central Mass. -- suffered a dislocated jaw and missed Senior Night at home against Groton-Dunstable the following evening.

In the regular-season finale at powerful Oakmont Regional Saturday night, junior forward Casey Buckley got hit with a ball to the elbow, while junior midfielder Sara Penniman absorbed a shot to the thumb. Buckley's injury has been diagnosed as a deep bruise, while Penniman is nursing a sprained thumb.

"Me and my coaching staff joked about it and we've almost jinxed ourselves because we didn't have any injuries all year," Nicholson said. "We were healthy and then all of a sudden, 'Bam.' It's like we have this black cloud over us wherever we're going."

Zarrella, Buckley and Penniman -- maybe not 100 percent healthy -- are all expected to compete in the playoffs, however.

"I think we have to play for each other," Zarrella said. "Even though (Gallagher) can't play and Penniman is kind of questionable, I want to play for them. I don't want to focus on them being hurt, but I don't want to forget about it because they're important players. We need to play for them, not keep them in the back of our minds, not in a negative sense, but more as a positive sense."

Mason said the injuries have made Leominster stronger as a team.

"This has been the best year, even through injuries," Mason said. "We fight through it. We've been a family this year. I feel like we all have a really good connection, on the field and off the field.

"When we see someone crying, instantly we're like, 'Oh my God,' and we start freaking out. As a family, their health is before if we win or lose a game. Everyone needs to be together and everyone needs to be well. We've lost a person every game, so if affects us a little."

Leominster's injuries have certainly factored into its struggles down the stretch, with wins in only two of its last seven games.

"It's been rough," admitted Mason. "Injuries definitely (played) a part in losing. It's just crazy how many injuries we have and how many people we've lost."

But there are no excuses to be made. Instead, Leominster is using all this adversity as a positive.

"Despite all the injuries that we've had, the girls have really stepped it up," said Nicholson, also listed on the injury report with walking pneumonia. "To me, it has really opened up their eyes to that we can play together as a team even if we're down two or three girls.

"We have people picking each other up and saying, 'Hey, I've got your back.' Somehow we're scraping by and doing it. If one gets injured, another one comes in and fills her position. As a team we're coming together and jelling. We're scraping our way to the top to get a win."

If Leominster didn't have all these injuries, Nicholson might not know whether her team was battled-tested entering the tournament. But she certainly knows her Blue Devils are tough as nails now.

"We're very tough," the LHS coach said. "We have very tough individuals on our team. They are very scrappy. We're going to play until we come off that field bloody and sprained or whatever, and we're going to do what we need to do to come off that field with a win."

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